# Aging: Vacuum Tin or Mason Jar



## jay29 (Jan 10, 2009)

I'm in the process of building my pipe tobacco cellar up, here it is Jay29's Online Tobacco Cellar, with a just ordered 8 ounces of Kajun Kake on the way.

Would any of you recommend opening the *vacuum sealed tins* up to put in mason jars for aging? If so, do you seal using the hot water water method?

How do you age your tobacco?


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## gpearson (Jun 1, 2010)

jay29 said:


> I'm in the process of building my pipe tobacco cellar up, here it is Jay29's Online Tobacco Cellar, with a just ordered 8 ounces of Kajun Kake on the way.
> 
> Would any of you recommend opening the *vacuum sealed tins* up to put in mason jars for aging? If so, do you seal using the hot water water method?
> 
> How do you age your tobacco?


I generally leave things tinned - however, yesterday I popped open a tin of IRish Flake which I'd noticed a faint smell from. I didnt need to, but was concerned by the escaping aroma. The vacuum seal still looked ok-ish, but on opening the flakes seemed considerably drier than the last tin - glad I took the chance to check it!

Other than cases like that though, it stays tinned for me.


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## DSturg369 (Apr 6, 2008)

Left in the tins, tobacco will age very well. Give the tin a slight squeeze on the top and bottom with your fingers to check it's sealed properly. If you do jar your tobaccos, there is really no need to vacuum seal your jars. They will usually seal themselves just fine. Any air left in the jar won't hinder the aging process. I've heated the jars slightly to speed the self-sealing along but not doing so only took a day or so longer.


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## owaindav (Mar 7, 2010)

+1 on tins. However, you'll need to check them more frequently than mason jars. Tins have a bit larger failure rate than jars.


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## Eirik (May 7, 2010)

I belive I've read somewhere (probably here), that tins with blends containing perique can start to bulge after some time. 

Have any of you had this happend?

I've got som va/pers in rubber sealed tins and it would be sad if the seals broke after, say 1-2 years.


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## Hellraiser (Mar 17, 2006)

As long as the seal is not suspect, I leave in tins.


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## jay29 (Jan 10, 2009)

Eirik said:


> I belive I've read somewhere (probably here), that tins with blends containing perique can start to bulge after some time.
> 
> Have any of you had this happend?
> 
> I've got som va/pers in rubber sealed tins and it would be sad if the seals broke after, say 1-2 years.


My GL Pease tin of FILMORE is about to explode after 5 years of aging.


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## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

jay29 said:


> My GL Pease tin of FILMORE is about to explode after 5 years of aging.


I hate to say this ... but ... there was a bad batch of Fillmore around '06/07 where the contents were over-moist and got moldy. There is a thread around here somewhere, it has the tin date/batch code of the victim's bad tin (was it Ultramag?).


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## FiveStar (Jan 7, 2010)

I'll second the above sentiments. If it's in a nicely sealed tin, leave it there unless it's a large bulk tin. I recently bought some Henrichs Dark Strong flake in a 200g tin, and broke it up into 4 smaller jars so I can sample it over time. 

I've found mason jars to be sufficient in every way. Right off the shelf, they're as clean as they need to be. I've already sampled some jar-aged baccy, and actually just smoked a bowl of Brown Bogie that only spent 3 months or so in the jar. The difference was already noticeable to my tastebuds. Anaerobic fermentation is where you're headed with sealed aging. In a tin, it's already happening!

On another not, last night I smoked some Murray's era Dunhill EMP that was sitting in a 5 pound bulk bag opened (but humidified properly) since its birth. While it was as tasty as any blend with Latakia in it can be to my palate, there was none of the frutiness or typically aged flavors going on in it. Really just tasted old and a bit bland to me. I think there surely is something to the difference between aging and simply getting older. 

In the case of tobaccy, it seems one happens in a sealed environment, and the other happens in the presence of oxygen. Oxygen is a great oxidizer after all, and has been know to be detrimental to such things as aromatic compounds given enough time and exposure.


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## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

FiveStar said:


> Oxygen is a great oxidizer after all, and has been know to be detrimental to such things as aromatic compounds given enough time and exposure.


Don't get me started on how it screws up beer!!!!!


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## User Name (Feb 11, 2011)

FiveStar said:


> .
> 
> In the case of tobaccy, it seems one happens in a sealed environment, and the other happens in the presence of oxygen. Oxygen is a great oxidizer after all, and has been know to be detrimental to such things as aromatic compounds given enough time and exposure.


Is there a difference between aged cigars in humidors and aged cigars in vacuum packed cans? (I know they used to can cigars, Don't know if they still do.)


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## CWL (Mar 25, 2010)

There's "aging" and there's "storing". They are not the same but I think that some people are confusing the two.


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## laloin (Jun 29, 2010)

leave the tobacco in the tins, the aging process starts when they are sealed, less you suspect the tins have been compromised, then stick then in a jar and forget it.
I just jar up all my bulk tobacco in jars and let the magic happen, not soo with OTC and aromatics since they don't age at all.
troy


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